The Rangers have signed 35-year old righty reliever Yoshinori Tateyama to a 1-year deal. Tateyama was 1-2 with 4 saves and a 1.80 ERA last season for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Tateyama has pitched 12 seasons in Japan appearing in 438 games in which he was 35-43 with 27 saves and a 3.43 ERA. He will likely work in middle relief for the Rangers in 2011 if he makes the team out of spring training.

The Rangers have signed 32-year old righty swinging catcher Yorvit Torrealba to a 2-year, $6.25 million dollar deal. Torrealba played in 95 games for the Padres last season and he was 88 of 325 (.271 avg, .721 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 7 homers, 37 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 669 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 542 of 2,106 (.257 avg, .708 OPS) with 237 runs scored, 45 homers, 272 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. I like this signing for the Rangers as Torrealba is battle tested in big games. He also works well with a pitching staff.

Ron Washington finished second in the A.L. Manager of the Year voting behind Ron Gardenhire of the Twins. I think Washington got robbed here but sometimes that happens to crackheads. Washington led the Rangers to a 90-72 (55.6%) record during the regular season and he was 8-8 (50%) in the post season as he guided the Rangers to their first ever World Series appearance. Washington now has a 331-317 (51.1%) record during the regular season in his first four years with the Rangers. Washington might eventually get one of these awards.

32-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee finished in 7th place in the A.L. Cy Young Award voting. Lee started 28 games for the Angels & Rangers last season and he was 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He only walked an amazing 18 batters in 212 1/3 innings last season! Lee has now pitched in 222 games (218 starts) in his 9 years in the majors and he is 102-61 with a 3.85 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He won the A.L. Cy Young Award in 2008 for the Cleveland Indians. Lee is by far the best starting pitcher on the free agent market so the Rangers will hopefully be able to re-sign him.

22-year old righty reliever Neftali Feliz has won the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League. Feliz did it by pitching in 70 games (0 starts) for the Rangers in which he was 4-3 with 40 saves, a 2.73 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. Feliz only gave up 43 hits in 69 1/3 innings during the regular season for the Rangers last year and he whiffed 71 batters as he was electric. He also pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Rangers during the post season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 1.23 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Feliz only gave up 3 hits in 7 1/3 innings during the post season and he whiffed 11 batters. Feliz has a very bright future for the Rangers.

The Rangers have signed 32-year old righty swinging catcher Kevin Cash. Cash played in 49 games for the Red Sox and Astros last season and he was 19 of 114 (.167 avg, .483 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. He has now played in 246 games in his 8 years in the majors and he is 117 of 641 (.183 avg, .526 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 12 homers and 58 RBIs. Cash is a outstanding defensive catcher and the Rangers could carry his weak ass bat if he were forced into action. He will likely be stashed at AAA in 2011.

26-year old righty swinging outfielder Jeff Francoeur has elected to become a free agent instead of accepting a minor league assignment from the Rangers. Francoeur played in 15 games for the Rangers after they acquired him in a deal with the Mets and he was 18 of 53 (.340 avg, .848 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. He played in 139 games combined last season with the Mets & Rangers and he was 113 of 454 (.249 avg, .683 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 13 homers, 65 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Francoeur won’t be returning to the Rangers because he’s on the hunt for a full time job and the smart money would likely have him signing with the Royals.

Righty starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy, righty reliever Doug Mathis and 32-year old righty swinging infielder Esteban German have all elected free agency over minor league assignments from the Rangers. 27-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy pitched in 11 games (9 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 4-2 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He pitched in 45 games (44 starts) in parts of three years for the Rangers and he was 13-15 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. I think some team is going to sign McCarthy to a minor league deal and give him a shot of winning a job in the starting rotation in spring training.

27-year old righty reliever Doug Mathis pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 1-1 with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. In parts of three years with the Rangers, Mathis worked in 45 games (6 starts) in which he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 4.84 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Mathis will get a minor league deal from some team this winter.

32-year old righty swinging infielder Esteban German played in 13 games for the Rangers last season and he was 3 of 13 (.231 avg, .606 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 RBI and 4 stolen bases. He played in 37 games in parts of three years for the Rangers and he was 20 of 63 (.317 avg, .783 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.

The Rangers have given manager Ron Washington a 2-year contract extension which was a reward for the fine season the team had. Washington led the Rangers to a 90-72 (55.6%) record which was good enough to win the A.L. West. He then led the Rangers to their first ever World Series appearance. The Rangers were 8-8 in the post season. Washington has been the Rangers’ manager for four years now and he has compiled a 331-317 (51.1%) record during the regular season. He deserved the contract extension as he is improving as a manager.

The Rangers have declined 35-year old righty swinging DH/RF Vladimir Guerrero’s option for the 2011 season valued at $9 million bucks. They bought him out for $1 million bucks. Guerrero played in 152 games for the Rangers last season and he was 178 of 593 (.300 avg, .841 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 29 homers, 115 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. But, Guerrero didn’t play well for the Rangers in the post season. Guerrero played in 15 games in the post season for the Rangers and he was 13 of 59 (.220 avg) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 6 RBIs. The Rangers will likely try to bring Guerrero back in 2011 if they don’t have to get into a bidding war for his services.